Christmas at Aunt Agatha's
by Susan M. M
Summary: Every year, young Severus Snape spends Christmas with his Muggle relatives. PWP: plot, what plot? A series of peeks into Snape's life. WIP
1. Chapter 1

**Standard Fanfic Disclaimer **that wouldn't last ten minutes in a court of law: this is an amateur work of fiction, based on characters and situations created by the inimitable J. K. Rowling. (And if she's so inimitable, why do we keep trying?) Tobias, Severus, and Eileen Snape are the literary creations of J. K. Rowling; other members of the Snape family are the figments of my own imagination. Severus Snape, as we all know, was born a half-blood (like Tom Riddle) and raised in a primarily Muggle environment (again, like Tom Riddle). This story is completely PWP {plot, what plot?}, merely a series of snapshots in a photo album, looking at some of Severus' Christmases with his Muggle relations. Needless to say, no financial profit has been made nor is likely to be made from this story.

* * *

**Christmas at Aunt Agatha's**

set in the _Harry Potter_ universe

by Susan M. M.

* * *

**1960, Cokeworth**

"Why Christmas at your aunt's?" Eileen Prince Snape asked her husband as they drove to a far nicer neighborhood of Cokeworth than the one they lived in. "This is our first Christmas as a real family, just the three of us."

"Don't you want to get out of that rat-trap of a flat, even for a day?" Tobias Snape growled. He did not look at his wife as he drove; he kept his eyes on the road.

They arrived at Aunt Agatha's home and parked the car. Once inside, Tobias and Eileen greeted his relatives. Eileen gave her mother-in-law a half-hearted, insincere hug. She glanced at the rest of the extended Snape and Kemble families, trying to match names to faces. Most of these people she'd met once at the wedding last summer and hadn't seen since. She knew Micah and Lydia Snape, of course; they had dinner with Tobias' parents once a month. William and Dorothea Snape, Micah's older brother and his wife, she recognized, and their sons and their sons' wives. She politely thanked Tobias' aunt, Agatha Snape Kemble, and her husband Francis for having them. Of the Kemble cousins, she could tell Joanna from her brothers, but she could not remember which brother was which. Of her darling Severus' second cousins, she didn't even attempt to decipher which child was which. None of them were more than five, anyway. Eileen exchanged polite if unenthusiastic pleasantries with everyone. They had spent last Christmas with Tobias' aunt, but at the time Eileen's belly had been as big as a cauldron, and she had felt too miserable to care where she was or with whom she celebrated the holiday.

"So this is my little grandnephew," Agatha Snape Kemble cooed over the baby. Despite the fact they lived in the same city, she had not bothered to visit the baby any time since his birth almost a year ago. All she'd done was mail a card to Tobias and Eileen with a five pound note inside.

"Scrawny runt," Francis Kemble muttered.

"He was a seven month baby," Eileen said defensively.

"You just keep saying that." Tobias' cousin Josiah Snape lifted his hot toddy in mock salute. "In a few years no one will bother counting the months between the wedding invitation and the birth announcement."

Several of the assorted Snape cousins laughed at that.

"Pot and the kettle," Eileen's mother-in-law, Lydia Fagin Snape, pointed out. "Your William came eight months after the honeymoon."

"Severus. He'll get teased at school with a name like that," predicted Tobias' cousin Bruce. He was Josiah's older brother, and he, too, had a hot toddy.

Tobias harrumphed. He hadn't picked the name.

"He's named for my favorite uncle," Eileen explained. Severus Prince was one of her few relatives who hadn't disowned her when she married a Muggle. "And there were several St. Severuses in the early days of the church."

"You a Romish Cathylick, Eileen?" one of the Kemble cousins asked. She wasn't sure if he was Roger or Charles.

Before she could correct him, before she could decide whether or not to admit that yes, she was a Roman Catholic, or at least had been raised one, Josiah's wife came to her rescue.

"Ignore them, Eileen," Geraldine Robinson Snape urged. "The Snape men are never happy unless they're complaining. Come put him in the playpen with my Leona."

* * *

**1968, Cokeworth**

"Don't slam that door," Great-Uncle Francis called out.

"Severus, what are you doing in so soon?" Grandma Lydia asked. "I thought you were playing and making snow angels."

"Too cold to play," Severus grumbled.

"Are you a nancy boy?" Tobias asked. "Too delicate, boy. A bit of fresh air will toughen you up."

Severus complained, "Cousin William threw a snowball in my face."

"So? Snowball fights are what you're supposed to do in winter," Tobias retorted.

Leona, Geri and Josiah's daughter, invited, "Come to kitchen and get some hot chocolate, Sev. It'll warm you up." Without waiting for him to say yes or no, she headed back to the kitchen. After a second's hesitation, Severus followed her.

"You're lucky having the sniffles, Lee. You don't have to go out and 'play' with those brutes."

"Yes, lucky to have a red, runny nose and a cough. Besides, I live with Rupert and Nate, and William and Todd are my first cousins. I see them every week; I only see you once or twice a year." She poured two mugs of cocoa, then lowered her voice. "Come with me, but be quiet. I found something interesting."

She led him up to the attic, both of them going on tiptoe. If the grown-ups didn't know where they were, they couldn't tell complain about what they were doing.

"Dusty," Severus observed.

"Here." She picked up a book off the floor and handed it to him.

"Mary Poppins?" He opened the book and glanced through the first few pages. One dark eyebrow rose when he saw the publication date. 1934, and from the battered condition of the book, it certainly looked over thirty years old.

They sipped cocoa and took turns reading aloud of Mary Poppins and the Banks family_. _As they read, Severus wondered silently if P. L. Travers had ever attended Hogwarts.


	2. Chapter 2

**1970, Cokeworth**

"Must we always go to your Aunt Agatha's for Christmas?" Eileen whined.

"Aunt Agatha is the only one with a big enough place. She's done better for herself than the rest of the family," Tobias replied.

"And she's never let anyone forget it," Eileen muttered.

Severus slunk down as low as he could in the back seat of the Morris Minor. When his parents argued - which was most of the time - he'd found it was wisest not to come to their attention.

"Aunt Agatha married above herself ... only member of the family to do so."

Eileen considered it undignified to respond to his jibe. Especially since she had married below herself. She waited until her husband had drive another half-mile before suggesting, "It would be nice to go to my family's for Christmas, just once."

"And have your lot look down on me, like they did at Easter? Why should I spoil my Christmas putting up with their attitudes? And you, boy, you keep your mouth shut about your Mum's family when we get to Aunt Agatha's, you hear?"

"Yes, Dad." Severus knew better than to discuss his maternal grandparents with his father's family. Next year it would be better. Next year, his mother had promised him, he would be going to Hogwarts. And if he had anything to say about the matter, he'd spend the Christmas holidays at school instead of coming back to Cokeworth.

* * *

Severus chewed his roast beef, keeping half an ear on the conversation at the adults' table. There were two card tables set up for the children, and his cousins were boring him to tears with their discussions of Manchester United. The adults weren't much more interesting: complaining about Harold Wilson. At least the food was good - roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, peas, and turnips.

Roger Kemble, Martin's father, started complaining and swearing about the Irish.

A sour expression came over Eileen's face. She pursed her lips; her eyes narrowed, but she said nothing.

Severus wanted to speak up, to point out that his grandmother was Irish, that his mother was half-Irish. He kept mum. He knew his father would slap his face for interrupting the adults. And he'd probably take a stick to him for mentioning Mum's parents.

Geri, Lee's mother, noticed Eileen's visage She quickly changed the subject. "We haven't seen you since the housewarming, Eileen. Have you settled in to Spinners End?"

"Beats the bloody flat," Tobias said, with his mouth full of turnips.

Again, Severus said nothing. The house in Spinners End was better than their old flat, but nothing compared to Aunt Agatha's house, and less than nothing compared to the Prince home in London. He looked up, suddenly realizing Lee had called his name, and from her tone, and already said it at least once.

"Why didn't you wave back to me when I waved to you at the theatre?" Lee repeated.

"What?"

"At the pantomime - both of our schools had field trips the same day. I waved to you, and I know you saw me. Why didn't you wave back?" she asked.

Severus didn't want to admit the truth. The boys from his school would have teased him mercilessly if he had waved to a girl. He fibbed, "I didn't see you in the crowd."

"I'm too old for pantomimes," William bragged.

Severus had enjoyed the performance of _Cinderella,_ but didn't want to say so, lest William and Rupert tease him. "School trip, not my idea." He shrugged. "Got me out of spelling."

"Who was that girl you were with?" Lee continued. "The pretty redhead?"

"Lily Evans."

"Has Sev got a girlfriend?" Nate asked.

"She's just a girl in my class." The most wonderful girl in the world, and one who would, he was sure, be going to Hogwarts with him next year.

* * *

**1972, Cokeworth**

The goose had been eaten down to the bones. The adults were gathered around the telly, watching Alastair Sim at Fezziwig's. The littlest cousins were playing with their toys. Most of the boys were outside, having a snowball fight. Leona and Severus were tucked up in the attic.

Lee asked, "Why doesn't your Mum divorce your Dad, if he's always that rude to her?"

"He's rude to everyone." Severus turned the page before replying. "Marriage means exchanging vows; vows aren't to be broken."

"What are they fighting about this time?" Lee asked.

"My aunt who married a Frenchman is visiting my grandfather in London. Mum wanted to go there for Christmas; she hasn't seen her sister in years." He had wanted to go, too, and ask the LeCroix cousins how Beauxbatons compared to Hogwarts. "Why are you reading A Boy's Sherlock Holmes? You're a girl."

"A Boy's Sherlock Holmes just means they cut out the hard words, not that it's for boys only," Lee retorted.

"Well, hurry up with it. I'm done with Just So Stories. "


	3. Chapter 3

**Saturday, December 22, 1973, on the Hogwarts Express**

The door to compartment Severus Snape and Lily Evans were sharing on the Hogwarts Express opened. Neither looked up from their game of Wizard Chess, assuming it was just Hadrian Blishwick coming back from the loo. Unfortunately, 'twasn't.

Brian Prince-Graystone, a sixth-year Ravenclaw and his brother Kevin Prince-Graystone, a fourth-year Gryffindor, stepped into the compartment. Severus scowled when he realized who they were.

"Look, Kev, the half-blood and the Muggle," Brian announced.

"No difference between a Muggle-born and and Muggle halfbreed, if you ask me," Kevin replied.

"No one asked you," Lily retorted.

"Oh, did we hurt the Muggle's feelings?" Kevin asked.

"I've had bee stings that hurt more," Lily informed him.

Severus permitted himself a half-smile.

"We heard you were complaining about your stupid cousins. I warned you not to let anyone know you were our cousin, half-blood," Brian threatened.

"Why would I brag that you were relatives of mine?" Severus asked.

"Because we're purebloods," Kevin retorted.

"I'm no more eager to acknowledge the relationship than you are," Severus pointed out.

"I thought you were in Ravenclaw," Lily spoke up.

"I am."

"I thought Ravenclaws were supposed to be clever," she continued in an unimpressed tone.

"We are," Brian said.

"Well, I hadn't known that you were cousins. Sev never told me. You came in - uninvited, I might add - and you informed me of that," Lily said. "If you're attempting to keep it a secret, you're not doing a very good job of it."

Brian and Kevin exchanged confused looks.

Brian frowned. "You're not a real wizard. You're nothing but a Muggle's son. Your mother disgraced the Prince family when she married that Muggle."

"Nothing but a half-blood Prince," Kevin sneered.

"Not a Prince at all," Brian corrected. "The Princes are a pureblood family."

"Leave my mother out of this," Severus snarled.

The compartment door opened, and Hadrian Blishwick stepped in. "What are you two doing here?"

"The Prince-Graystone brothers," Lily caught the look in Sev's eyes, and changed what she was about to say, "came to wish Sev a Happy Christmas."

"Are you two spending the Christmas hols together?" Hadrian asked.

"Most of them," Severus replied, glancing up at Brian and Kevin, "but Christmas itself I always spend at Aunt Agatha's with my stupid cousins."

* * *

**Tuesday, December 25, 1973, Cokesworth**

After roast turkey at Aunt Agatha's, Sev and Lee disappeared into the attic with Charles Dickens. As he read of Oliver and the Artful Dodger, he wondered who was worse: the Prince-Graystone cousins or the Snape and Kemble cousins. As far as he was concerned, they were all idiots, annoying idiots.


	4. Chapter 4

**Christmas 1974, Cokeworth**

Severus hid a smirk as William glared at the adult table. William was supposed to have sat there this year: at sixteen he was too old for the children's card table. However, Edna Kemble had invited her boyfriend to Christmas dinner. The adult table was already overcrowded. Aunt Agatha had said that Edna and her young man could sit at the dining room table. William had to endure another year with the younger cousins, even though Edna was three months younger than he was.

"You still wasting your time at school, Sev'rus?" William asked in a condescending tone.

His mouth full, Severus just nodded. Not that he considered it a waste ... other than the time spent with Kevin Prince-Graystone and his protegees, James Potter, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and Remus Lupin. At least Brian had decided that other people were less likely to learn they were first cousins if he avoided Severus as much as possible.

"Not me. Dropped out the minute I turned sixteen. Got me a job at the factory, getting some real money," William bragged.

"I'm going to do the same," Rupert said. "Only a few more months."

"Lucky." Gwen was envious. "I can't wait until I can get out of school." She stuck out her tongue at Leona. "Not like Lee. She likes school."

Lee just shrugged. Like Severus, she'd learned to keep her mouth shut around her brothers and cousins.

"That's because Lee won a scholarship to St. Hilda's Girls' High School. Thinks she's better than us 'cause she's going to grammar school instead of comprehensive like the rest of us peasants," Rupert sneered.

"Is that what you two always get up to in the attic?" Gwen asked. "You busy comparing how grand your fancy boarding schools are instead of snogging?"

"Very fancy," Severus said dryly. "Oh, yes, I live in a castle in Scotland. My dorm room is down in the dungeon."

The cousins laughed at the idea of him living in a castle. As he'd intended, they didn't take him seriously. The best way to lie, Severus knew, was to tell the truth, but in such a way it wouldn't be believed.

Lee waited until after they'd eaten, until they were safely ensconced in the attic, she with Jane Austen, he with Robert Louis Stevenson, before she asked the questions she dared not ask in front of her brothers and cousins. "What classes do you like best at your school up north?"

Severus hesitated. He couldn't tell her he liked Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts best. "Science. Chemistry, especially. And you?"

"Literature and history. Maybe I'll write historical fiction when I grow up."

Severus wanted to be a potions master when he finished school, or perhaps an apothecary. He turned a page as he thought of how to phrase it in Muggle terms. "I might be a chemist. Perhaps go into research. Scientific research."

Lee nodded and returned her attention to the Bennet sisters. It wasn't until she finished the chapter that she asked her next question. "Who is it you'd rather be snogging?"

"Is that any of your business?"

"No." Lee grinned up at him. "But I'm curious."

"Her name is Lily."

"Pretty name. Is she pretty?"

"Very."


	5. Chapter 5

**1976, Cokeworth**

Lee turned the page. Without looking up from Jane Eyre, she mentioned, "You know, they all think we're up here snogging."

"Our relations have little minds. Petty, filthy little minds." Severus did not look up from Mr. Midshipman Hornblower. He didn't bother mentioning that they were cousins. Amongst wizards, cousin marriages were common and second cousins were a perfectly unexceptionable match.

"Are you snogging anybody at school? Like that Lily girl you mentioned?"

Frowning, Severus shook his head. "We ... quarreled. She's not speaking to me anymore."

"Sorry."

So am I, Severus wanted to say, but he kept his mouth shut.

"I don't like snogging boys. Actually," Lee hesitated a second, "I don't like boys. I, um, er, like girls."

Severus stared at his book a moment, pretending to focus on Horatio Hornblower's adventures whilst he digested that. "I can't imagine your parents were thrilled to hear that."

"They don't know yet. Daddy would go spare if he found out. And Mum - well, she'd be like Queen Victoria, who refused to outlaw it because she wouldn't believe such a thing was possible."

"That's the first time I've ever heard your mother compared to Queen Victoria." Severus thought. He knew Muggles were much more opposed to such liaisons than wizards and witches were. Indeed, until 1861 homosexuality had been a hanging offense in the Muggle courts of law.

Lee looked up from her paperback. "Is it - is it going to be a problem for you?"

"I wasn't planning to snog you," Severus pointed out. He thought of Barty Crouch and Rabastan Lestrange. "There are some boys in my dorm who are ... sweet on each other."

Frankly, Severus suspected the only reason Barty Crouch was a would-be Death Eater was because of how he felt about Rabastan. Rabastan's older brother was already a Death Eater, and he told everyone who would listen that he would be joining the Dark Lord's service as soon as he graduated from Hogwarts. Severus was strongly tempted to enter the Dark Lord's service himself. Voldemort had power, and those who served him would have power, too. And if he couldn't have Lily Evans, well, then power would do as a second place.

A very poor second.

* * *

**Author's Notes: ** The relationship between Barty Crouch, Jr. and Rabastan Lestrange is stolen, er, borrowed from CatsAreCool's AU "A Marauder's Plan." [ s/8045114/1/A-Marauder-s-Plan] Severus is not entirely accurate in his facts. Male homosexuality was a hanging offense in England until 1861, and decriminalized (or at least made a less serious offense) in 1967 (1981 in Scotland). Female homosexuality was never officially outlawed. Queen Victoria allegedly refused to do so, not believing such an abomination existed. Singer/songwriter Allison Lonsdale has suggested that red-blooded British males found it impossible to believe that mere females could prefer other mere females over red-blooded British men, and therefore such a law was unnecessary. The Sexual Offenses Act of 1967 set the age of consent for homosexual carnal activity at 21 and heterosexual carnal activity at 16; this was not changed until 2001. JK Rowling has stated in interviews that the Wizarding World takes a much more liberal view of homosexuality than the Muggle community.


	6. Chapter 6

**December 20, 1978, London**

"Snape? You at an interruptible point, lad?" Eustace Mulpepper called down the basement stairs.

It was a valid question. Some potions could not be left unattended.

"One moment, sir," Severus called up. He turned down the heat on the Bunsen burner, so his current project would not boil over, then hurried to the staircase. He only got a few steps up the staircase when he met Mr. Mulpepper and Evan Rosier coming down.

"Mr. Rosier needs the special potion," Mr. Mulpepper said. "Take care of him, please."

Severus extended an arm to his former classmate and helped him to the stool. Rosier leaned heavily on him, shaking as he limped to the stool. Mr. Mulpepper hurried up the stairs without another word. While he supported Lord Voldemort's goals, he was not a Death Eater, and preferred to maintain "plausible deniabilty." He didn't want to know what his apprentice's other master was doing.

"Crucio'd?" Snape asked unnecessarily. He recognized the symptoms.

Rosier nodded.

"Our lord is not gentle when he is displeased," Severus observed. He kept his tone neutral. Openly expressing criticism of Lord Voldemort was to risk the Cruciatus Curse himself. Going to the cupboard, he fetched out the painkiller he'd had to brew all too often lately. He also got a small bottle of cheap Muggle gin. He poured three tablespoons of the painkiller into a battered mug. "Drink this down as quickly as you can."

Rosier took the mug. He gulped it down, then made a face. Severus poured a generous helping of gin into the now empty mug.

"This will help kill the taste," Severus told him.

Nodding, Rosier took the mug and drank deeply. "That helps," he admitted. "A little."

"You should rest." Severus gestured at the cot in the corner of the basement. "Even with the painkiller potion, only time will ameliorate the effects of the Cruciatus Curse." He did not ask what Rosier had done to displease Lord Voldemort. The Dark Lord was quick tempered, and quick to punish any failures, real or imagined. If anything, he was harder on his supporters than he was on his enemies. Severus remembered a line from a book Lee had recommended to him: _"____Do not meddle in the affairs ____of__ wizards, for they are subtle, and quick to anger."_

Rosier managed to make it to the cot under his own power, then collapsed.

"Rest," Severus repeated gently. He went back to the potion he'd been working on before Rosier had needed him. Twenty minutes later, he bottled the anti-acne potion - one of the best-sellers at Mr. Mulpepper's Apothecary - and put it aside to cool. "Evan? Are you awake?"

"Halfway," Rosier muttered.

"I'm going to go out for lunch. Will you be all right by yourself for a bit?" After Rosier mumbled what Severus took for an affirmative, he asked, "Shall I bring you back anything?"

"No. Don't think I could eat and keep it down."

"Nap if you can. I'll be back soon." Severus went upstairs, informed Mr. Mulpepper that he was going out for lunch, and left the shop. He went down Knockturn Alley to Diagon Alley, and thence to the Leaky Cauldron, the pub that formed the gateway between the Wizarding World and Muggle London. He nodded politely to Tom, the barman, popped into the loo long enough to change into Muggle clothing, and continued out to Charing Cross Road.

Checking to make sure he was not being followed, Severus dashed into Papiernictvo, a stationery shop. He bought two Muggle Christmas cards and a cheap pen from the proprietor, a man with a thick Czechoslovakian accent, and tucked them into his jacket pocket. There were plenty of eating establishments on Charing Cross Road and Tottenham Court Road, but being so close to Diagon Alley, some of them were occasionally patronized by wizards who wanted to go out slumming in the Muggle world. Severus didn't want any curious eyes watching what he was about to do. He wandered the streets of London, turning left, then right, then left again, until he was sure he was in a purely Muggle neighborhood. He went into the Saracen's Head Pub, where he had a dish of stewed eels, a packet of potato crisps, and a mug of lemon shandy. As he ate, he signed the two Christmas cards. On Lee's card, he scribbled a brief note, telling her that he had gotten a job with an apothecary in London and hoping that her classes at the University of Manchester were going well. For Lily's card, he simply signed 'Sev.' He addressed it to Lily Potter, not to James and Lily Potter. He was not about to send a Christmas card to James Potter, not if Minister Bagnold and Lord Voldemort both ordered him to do so.

He glanced around the pub. No other wizards or witches were there. None of the Muggle customers were paying attention to him. That was how he wanted it. No one could see him addressing Christmas cards to a Muggle or a blood-traitor. As a Half-blood, he had to be very careful amongst his fellow Death Eaters. They knew he had Muggle relatives; they didn't know he still kept in touch with any of them. He wondered idly which would distress his colleagues more: sending a Christmas card to his second cousin or sending one to Lily, the Muggle-born wife of one of Dumbledore's pets. The other Death Eaters, especially the younger ones, despised Lily for two reasons. She had been the cleverest witch of their year at Hogwarts, Slughorn's favorite, and was living proof that Muggle-born witches were not only equal to Pure-bloods, but (in her case, at least) superior. And they despised her because she - the dowerless Mudblood, with no family tree important to them - had managed to catch one of the most eligible young bachelors of the wizarding world, when their Pure-blood sisters had failed. Either way, he didn't want them to see him when he slipped Lee's card into a red postbox or when he dropped off Lily's card at the Public Owlery.

It wouldn't just be embarrassing for Severus to get caught. It might be dangerous.


	7. Chapter 7

**December 22, 1980, London**

The shops were crowded, and Severus Snape knew he'd waited too long to do his Christmas shopping. He should have gotten this taken care of already. But there were too many eyes on him. The Dark Lord used him, but did not trust him; the Dark Lord trusted no one. The Order of the Phoenix watched him. Dumbledore alone, of that pack of meddling busybodies, knew that he was a double agent, which meant most of the other order members would happily _Avada Kedavra _him if they thought they could get away with it. The result was an appalling lack of privacy, which made it difficult to run the most insignificant errands unobserved.

And this errand, Severus did not consider insignificant.

He went past the dollies and the toy brooms, the model railroads and the self-juggling balls. None of those were appropriate. Weary parents jostled him, some muttering polite 'excuse mes,' some ignoring him. At last he worked his way through the crowd to the stuffed animals. Every beast one could think of was replicated in plush: hippogriffs, sea serpents, owls, ravens, unicorns, nifflers.

Ah, there was what he was looking for: dragons.

Big dragons. Little dragons. Plush dragons. Wooden model dragons to construct. Cartoony dragons. Dragons realistic enough to use as teaching aids in a Care of Magical Creatures class. Norwegian Ridgebacks. Ukrainians Ironbellies. Catalonian Fireballs. Hungarian Horntails. Swedish Short-Snouts. Hebridean Blacks.

He sorted through the toy dragons until he found a Welsh Green and a Chinese Fireball, both about the size of a Yorkshire terrier. He headed for the cashier's desk and waited in line to pay for them.

"Very nice choice, sir," the cashier told him. "The little ones will love these. Let's see, thirteen Sickles a pieces, that's one Galleon, nine Sickles. For an extra five Sickles each, you can have them gift wrapped. The money from the gift wrapping goes to St. Mungo's."

"Yes, gift wrapped, please," Severus agreed. He had neither the time nor the inclination to indulge in fancy paper and bows, and St. Mungo's was a worthy cause.

"That brings it up to two Galleons, two Sickles." He took the money Severus handed him and quickly made change. "The gift wrapping table is right over there, sir."

Severus took his purchases and got in another line. In a very few minutes a medi-witch was asking him which color wrapping paper he would like for his dragons. He chose green and silver for the Welsh Green, with a silver bow, and red and gold for the Chinese Fireball, with a golden ribbon and bow.

"If you like, you can just address the cards, and we'll take them to the hospital's Owlery, no extra charge," the medi-witch offered.

Severus took a quill and wrote out two gift tags. _For Draco. Happy First Christmas. SS._ he put on the package in Slytherin colors. _For your son's first Christmas_ he put on the other gift tag, then addressed it to Lily E. Potter. He didn't sign it, although he knew she'd recognize his handwriting. Perhaps if it came anonymously, she could pretend she didn't know from whom it came, and accept it, for the baby's sake. He pushed the box in Gryffindor colors toward the medi-witch. "If you'd deliver this one, please. I'll take care of the other one myself."

"Of course, of course. Thank you very much, and Happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas," he echo'd as he left the store. Lucius and Narcissa were hosting a Boxing Day party; he could give them Draco's gift then. At his age, the child wouldn't care that it was a day late. He knew from Dumbledore that the Order of the Phoenix was planning a party on Christmas Eve. Despite the fact that he was officially a member of the order, he knew he wouldn't be welcome. And really, 'twas better not to go. The more people who knew he was a double agent, the more chances someone might accidentally let something slip. Attending a holiday party wasn't worth risking his life.

And he didn't think he could bear to see Lily under the mistletoe with that toerag, Potter.


End file.
